ARTICLE TAG

Office of Children and Family Services

2/15/2023

New York Announces New Mandated Reporter Training to Reduce ‘Unwarranted’ Child Maltreatment Reports

New York has revised its mandated reporter training to root out the “implicit bias component” in reporting suspected abuse or neglect.

2/2/2023

New York Governor Announces Budget Plans, Child Advocates Want More

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed budget includes serving more than 113,000 additional kids through subsidized child care programs.

New York County Leaders Say Detention Beds are Lacking for 16- and 17-year-olds Accused of Serious Crimes

8/24/2022

New York County Leaders Say Detention Beds are Lacking for 16- and 17-year-olds Accused of Serious Crimes

New York county leaders say there are too few secure detention facilities for teens awaiting trial, but greater capacity could be years away.

5/2/2022

Host Homes Are a Necessary Resource for Struggling New York Families

In child welfare, host homes can be a community-based solution to address families who need help with their children, writes BJ Walker. 

4/4/2021

As Pandemic Raged, COVID-19 Testing Was Rare In New York’s Youth Lockups

The state conducted 26 COVID tests in 9 juvenile detention facilities in first 6 months of pandemic, according to records obtained by The Imprint.

vaccines foster youth eligible

2/26/2021

Confusion Among State Agencies Delays Vaccines for New York Foster Youth In Congregate Care

By Megan Conn

Doctor drawing up Covid-19 vaccine from glass phial bottle and filling syringe injection for vaccination.
Vulnerable teens and young adults living in New York group homes have apparently been eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus for as long as two months — but conflicting guidance and miscommunications between state agencies meant many providers didn’t know their residents could sign up until this week. 

7/30/2020

Dozens of Prosecutors and Youth Corrections Officials Call to Close All Youth Prisons

In a sign of the nation’s rapid rethinking of the justice system prompted by protests against racism and police brutality, dozens of elected prosecutors, corrections officials and probation chiefs have called for all youth prisons to be shut down.

Cornelius Fredericks Michigan New York prone restraint

7/7/2020

Calls Grow to Eliminate ‘Face Down’ Restraints for Foster Youth After Michigan 16-Year-Old’s Death

Following the horrific death of a 16-year-old foster youth in a Michigan residential treatment facility – who died of cardiac arrest after staff pinned him on the ground and constricted his breathing – New York advocates are calling for the state to bar face-down restraints in facilities for the highest-needs children, calling the practice “dangerous” and “barbaric.”  

aging out foster youth asks gov. cuomo to moratorium

5/29/2020

‘Once You Sign the Paper, It’s Over:’ Older Foster Youth Plead for Help from New York Governor 

When she turned 21 last year, seven years after entering foster care in New York City, Jeanette Rivera suddenly found herself fending for herself — and her three young children.  “They didn’t wait to make sure that I was ready to be on my own, they didn’t make sure I had food, that my bills were paid or that I even understood how to pay my portion of my rent,” Rivera said.